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Music and Lyrics

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Music and Lyrics (2007)

63%
87%
74%
N/A
N/A
N/A
63 %
Reviews Counted: 158 Fresh: 99  Rotten:59 Average Rating: 6/10
 
Consensus: Music & Lyrics is a light and pleasant romantic comedy that succeeds because of the considerable charm of its co-stars. The music segments featuring Hugh Grant are worth the price of admission.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Theatrical Release: Feb 14, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $50,514,047

Synopsis: Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a cynical and self-deprecating former pop idol (the hilarious opening video introduces his '80s new wave band Pop!) who is now playing the nostalgia circuit, but has maintained enough dignity to turn down an appearance on a "Battle of the '80s Has-Beens" TV... Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a cynical and self-deprecating former pop idol (the hilarious opening video introduces his '80s new wave band Pop!) who is now playing the nostalgia circuit, but has maintained enough dignity to turn down an appearance on a "Battle of the '80s Has-Beens" TV reality show. Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) is a gifted writer with deep inferiority issues who's been hired to water Fletcher's plants, and ends up becoming his emergency fill-in lyricist for a song he needs to deliver to teen queen singer Cora (Haley Bennett) in four days. Despite this contrived "cute meet," the film, to its great credit, deftly avoids many possible rom-com tropes in favor of organic, character-driven conflicts and comic situations. Alex and Sophie fall in love, struggle over their song, and wrestle with their own respective resistance to romantic happiness, while simultaneously coping with the frustrations of the creative process and the demands of the music industry. The two leads (aided by great comic sidekick turns from Brad Garrett and Kristen Johnston) manage to pull all this off with a lightness of touch that makes the characters' vulnerability appealing and not pathetic. The original songs by Adam Schlesinger (the go-to guy for singer-songwriter film music) is charming and catchy. [More]

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Musicians, Relationships, Singers, Composers

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, Brad Garrett, Kristen Johnston, Campbell Scott

Director: Marc Lawrence
Producer: Mark Lawrence

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 19, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Surround 5.1 English, French, Latin Spanish
  • Stereo 2S

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image
B

Move beyond the lame title, and you'll find an unexpectedly good movie, with the inspired casting of Drew Berry and Hugh Grant possessing the necessary chemistry to lift this rote, manufactured story into something appealing.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/26/07
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
C

Far too little originality ... to make the film anything other than a disposable rom-com triviality.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/03/07
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image
5/10

Music and Lyrics could have had more rhythm and a better beat...

Full Review | comment Comment
05/04/07
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Hugh Grant is a genius at romantic comedy. He has just the right blend of good looks, sex appeal, wit, sensitivity, self-awareness, and even more endearing, self-mockery.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/23/07
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net
Ratings Image
2.5/5

"Music and Lyrics" argues that pop songs are poetry, and in the tradition of Walt Whitman, the film proceeds to celebrate itself.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/29/07
Stephen Himes
Flak Magazine
Ratings Image
2/5

Una comedia romántica realmente menor y predecible, con alguna ironía sobre la música pop de los años '80 (y la de ahora).

Full Review | comment Comment
03/29/07
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image
2/4

... this is a movie that will lose nothing when you rent it from Netflix a few months from now.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/14/07
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
Ratings Image
3/4

Good-natured, melodic and sweet as can be, "Music and Lyrics" is like listening to your favorite '80s compilation: It just plain makes you feel good.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/09/07
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Ratings Image
3/5

Embora nada original, o roteiro é suficientemente divertido e explora muito bem as mais do que estabelecidas personas da dupla principal: o jeitão desajeitado e auto-crítico de Grant e a insegurança engraçadinha de Barrymore.

comment Comment
03/04/07
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
3/4

Music and Lyrics is a nice, light, bright romantic comedy -- a demonstration of the best and the worst of modern romantic comedy in action, in fact. ...

Full Review | comment Comment
03/02/07
James Rocchi
Cinematical
Ratings Image
A-

Despite a copout ending that dumbs down the film's previous wit-filled 90 minutes, few mainstream audiences will be able to resist its charms.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/28/07
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Ratings Image
B

This movie has more witty lines in any 10 minute clip than most comedies have in the entire film.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/27/07
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image
3/4

Music and Lyrics is not the most original or ambitious movie I've ever seen. However, Barrymore is well-paired with Grant in a story that is smarter than you might think. It's just all-around good fun.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/26/07
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
Ratings Image
A

Like a catchy pop song you can't stop humming, the sublime romantic melody of Music and Lyrics puts a smile on your face and love in your heart.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/26/07
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
Ratings Image
N/A

This is Barrymore's burden, that she consistently resists generic business even as she makes it tolerable. The next step is to challenge the business outright.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/24/07
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
Ratings Image
4/5

Witty, playful, charming and satisfying -- an unpretentious confection that's just right and a little bit more.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/23/07
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image
4/5

...when this movie gets a moment right, it nails it. It's now you tolerate/notice the rest that will affect your experience.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/23/07
Karina Montgomery
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Ratings Image
N/A

Barrymore ... and Grant are both charming here, and yet there's no chemistry between them at all.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/23/07
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
Ratings Image
5/10

The song [Pop! Goes My Heart] is a lot of fun, but ends up being the only memorable thing in a middling rom-com that needed a wittier script.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/22/07
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
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This is the single worst romantic comedy I've ever seen. Period.
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Music & Lyrics Poster
by: The Offbeat Regular 2/14/07


David J Hilton
'PG' rating for Music And Lyrics in the UK
by: David J Hilton 2/7/07
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